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Indiana 57, Nebraska 66: Hoosiers fall to Huskers

Nineteen turnovers doomed the Hoosiers on the road in Lincoln.

NCAA Basketball: Indiana at Nebraska Bruce Thorson-USA TODAY Sports

Indiana’s four-game winning streak is over, falling to Nebraska on the road. Here’s three things from the victory. EDITOR’S NOTE: I’ve drank a bunch of cheap wine tonight.

  • holy god they turned it over nineteen times: Listen, you don’t get away with that kind of nonsense unless you shoot lights out. The backcourt leaders of RoJo, Green, and Newkirk combined for 12 of them, the majority of which you could file under the “braindead” variety. For a team that struggles to shoot the ball well, turning it over at that kind of clip is a death sentence, particularly on the road.
  • Justin Smith is yet another reason for optimism: the freshman has enjoyed a breakout over the last handful of games, putting up 16 points and 8 rebounds tonight and often being the only reason the Hoosiers stayed in it for long stretches of time. He has a knack for finding the ball once the shot goes up and does a great job of moving on offense without it. If he can add some range to his game, he’s got a chance to become a nightmare for teams down the road, and I can’t think of a better guy for him to be learning from in practice every day than Juwan Morgan.
  • The Nebraska bench celebrations are fun and good: BTN went to the well too many times but I was consistently amused by their antics on the bench. Enthusiasm is infectious, and when the guys that have no shot of getting into a competitive game are that in it, you have to believe it has an effect on your scholarship guys. Also: if it makes old sportswriters mad, it’s probably good.

Indiana is eliminated from contention for the 5 seed, they’ll be the 6th as long as they at least match Penn State’s results down the stretch, or they’ll be the 7th if Penn State wins one more than they do, as the Hoosiers own the tiebreaker thanks to their win over the Nittany Lions in Assembly Hall. Indiana is already 0-1 with Penn State set to host Michigan tomorrow and travel to conclude to end their regular season.

Indiana is back in action Friday night when they host Ohio State.